Doing What You Can

Have you ever felt like you are failing? As a person? A spouse? A friend? An employee? It’s always been a part of my personality to strive to do more, to be more. But to be honest, sometimes I get tired of feeling like everyone else has it together… that if I just tried a little harder or if I just had a little more time, that I could get it together as well. Somewhere along the way, I’ve convinced myself that my biggest enemy is lack of time—that if I had more time or if I were better organized to maximize the time I do have, that I could do more.

So how do I combat these thoughts?

I’ve realized that my efficiency tends to increase as my load increases. This can become problematic when it leads me to believe that I can do more and more, resulting in an impossible never-ending cycle of busyness and striving. To help break this cycle, I have decided that sometimes I just have to force myself to slow down—to make the time for simple self-care pleasures like enjoying a cup of hot, soothing tea like Organic Tranquility and to just be still.

I’ve decided that it’s okay to not be perfect. To me, this means not always striving to be the best; not always needing to get things right the first time; saying no sometimes to create margin in my life and schedule.

I’ve also learned to stop and ask myself questions like “What is really important?” and “What am I doing that no one else can do right now?” This begins with my relationships—with my husband and son, with family and friends and with other people I do life with—and extends to other areas of work and play. I want to ensure that I always have time for the ones that matter most to me. Like this cutie here...

I want to ensure that I always have time for the ones that matter most to me.

There will never be enough time. The idea of having balance and margin in my life isn’t something new. But, for me, stopping, accepting myself, and focusing on what is important is a new discipline that I know will benefit me the more I practice it. It’s so freeing to let go of the pressure and to rest in the knowledge that, really, we’re all just doing the best we can with what we have. And that's just fine.